☆ FIRECRACKER

“where’s mike?” she’d been on her OWN for many months while hopper worked, but today of all days she needed a babysitter -- which also happened to be, steve harrington. el could not understand why, as mike would be here for her, and she’d argued until she was blue in the face -- but steve was still here nonetheless. 

“ice cream is good. eat.” she’d pushed the ice cream container towards the other, hoping to ENTICE them with the sweet sickly smell. el was learning to share ( well, maybe not her eggos ), and it had been going quite well so far.

“is mike home?” she was a touch NERVOUS for the whole prospect of meeting mike’s mom -- she had never gotten the chance to really, nor did mike really want her to. he’d explained that his mom would embarrass him with ‘baby pictures’, which el didn’t feel was really a bad thing at all.

 “i miss him.” tears fell to her cheeks, where a hand gingerly PRESSED against the wetness upon her cheeks. she attempted to wipe them away, but did a clumsy job of it. she sniffled loudly, unable to stop the cries from pouring out, arms enveloping joyce, as she motioned to her for a tight hug.

“i’m a ghost.. what are you?” she tilted her head in question, unsure of the other’s intentions, so she kept her distance. el was a tad hesitant on TRUSTING others, she’d been isolated for a chunk of her childhood, and being social was something of a challenge for her. 

“no money.” she even emptied her pockets so she could show the elder female, lips curved in a slight smile of mischief and NAIVETY. she’d been itching to buy a gift for someone she felt was special, and music seemed to be the only LOGICAL choice -- however, she’d forgotten to bring the one thing she so desperately needed. money.

she hadn’t been out of the house too much, so she had no idea what the HECK this place she’d stepped into. el tilted her head to the side, reading the word before her “library. what’s that?”

"i’m a superhero.” the explanation was SIMPLE, and one that dustin had relayed to her, if she ever got caught using her abilities in public. 

she wasn’t used to GIFTS -- not the conventional kind, anyway. hopper tended to gift her with the eggos she desired, but not without teaching in the process ( which she still enjoyed and appreciated ). he’d shown her how to dance and sing -- something which she had never been accustomed to, because of her upbringing, and it had always brought a SMILE to the small one’s lips. however, receiving a gift from nancy brought her inexplicable joy, and she couldn’t wipe the big, goofy grin away -- smiling from ear to ear. “thank you...what is it?”

she took the object from the other, opening the wrapper, and eating the contents. el’s nose wrinkled in distaste, spitting it back. “what is this?”

she was handed one of those comics that she’d been accustomed to, but this one wasn’t familiar. “bat...man? where’s wonder woman?”

— @cggos liked for a starter (!!!)

It hardly seemed like an APPROPRIATE time to be talking about dating - with the threat of the Mind Flayer’s presence newly hanging in the cabin air, there were a hundred more important things they should be devoting their attention to. But El was recharging her batteries right now (or so she called it), waiting for her powers to replenish before she could locate Billy. There wasn’t a lot she COULD be doing instead. And Nancy was going to drive herself insane with impatience and idleness if she didn’t find a task for herself to do. Something productive, something she could feel like she made tangible progress on. So she’d settled on this - on GIRL TALK in the middle of the end of the world. Again. Hardly a battle strategy or valuable undertaking on the surface, but Nancy wasn’t so SURE that was totally true. From watching El over the last two years, it seemed to her that the younger girl’s powers were intimately tied to her EMOTIONS somehow. The way she summoned anger to fight, dug deep into her desires to protect people. So maybe … healing the broken or bent parts of her heart might help her to recharge faster. Or fight better. Or just … be happier. Even in dark and dire times like these, that was important to Nancy too. 

“Hey … can I come in?” Nancy asked with a warm smile, gingerly shutting El’s bedroom door behind her as she stepped inside. “I uhh… Mike told me that you dumped him.” she began with a sympathetic wince, moving slowly over towards El’s bed to sit down next to her. “I don’t doubt he DESERVED it. My brother can be a little … for how smart he is? He can be a real idiot. Especially when it comes to you.” Nancy explained with a grin, shrugging her shoulders a little bit. “And I ALSO hear you’ve been getting some advice about it from Max. Which is a good place to start, for sure, but …” Nancy trailed off, tilting her head affectionately and resting a kind had on El’s knee. “… I’m somewhat of an EXPERT. Both on dating and my brother. Why don’t you … let me try to help?”

she was sitting on the bed, contemplating on what to do NEXT -- she wasn’t used to using her abilities this much. even when she was in THAT place, el had been used moderately. however, she wanted to help as much as possible, she knew that much. she could cope, she could keep going, if only she could just rest. she pressed a hand to her head, it had throbbed as of late, but she’d made no fuss over it, not wanting to worry the others. she massaged her temple with her fingers, gently, reprieving her of the pain. 

her thoughts were momentarily distracted when in walked nancy, mike’s sister. she listened intently, nodding, taking her time to listen to the words she spoke. eyebrows furrowed at the mention of mike -- even though there was a slight fluttering in her tummy, that she attempted to IGNORE, but found it increasingly hard, the more nancy spoke. “he lied,” she started, the corner of her lips drooping down just slightly, at the thought. “friends don’t lie, but boyfriend’s DO.” she reiterated max’s words to her, with sadness, the anger had ceased. el just didn’t want to be lied to anymore. she’d started her life with many lies, and she was now learning to live in the real world. she’d had the best months of her life, but her tiny world had shattered into a million pieces, with that revelation -- but she’d gained a NEW FRIEND in its wake. 

hues drifted to the elder girl, yearning for the answers she NEEDED to hear. mike had told her that friends do not lie, and that’s just what mike had done -- but mike wasn’t just her friend anymore, she knew that much. “what do i do?”